Baseball Takes Center Stage as NHL Pauses, NBA Ends Regular Season

While the NHL prepares to start the Stanley Cup playoffs and the NBA regular season comes to a close on Wednesday, Major League Baseball is starting just its second full week of games.

One game bettors will be looking at on Monday is a rematch from last season’s American League Division Series when the Kansas City Royals visit the Houston Astros.

Odds makers have made Houston the favorite at -135 with the over/under run total currently at 9.

The Royals started their defense of the World Series with a successful homestand of five games that ended with a sweep of Minnesota over the weekend.

The Royals have started their season with hot bats as Mike Moustakas had 5 hits in 12 at bats in three games against Minnesota.

This game will be Houston’s home opener after beginning the season with six straight road games. The Astros lost both three-game series 1-2 to start their season a disappointing 2-4.

However, not disappointing is rookie Tyler White who has started his career in the majors with 10 hits in 18 at bats including 3 home runs and 9 RBIs.

Collin McHugh won 19 games last season for Houston and looks to get back on track early this season against Kansas City. Chris Young has had double-digits wins his past two seasons and will be on the mound for the Royals.

Minute Maid Park will likely have its roof closed for the opening game of this series on Monday as thunderstorms are expected in the area.

BETTING TRENDS

Kansas City is 4-0 in the past 4 starts on the road for Young.

Houston is 5-1 over its past 6 games at home after a road trip of 7 days or more.

Houston is 9-0 in the past 9 starts at home for McHugh versus a club with a record above .500.

The UNDER has cashed in each of the past 7 games for Kansas City during the first game of a series.

The UNDER has cashed in 6 of the past 7 games for Houston versus a club with a .600 or better winning percentage.

Kansas City is 1-4 over its past five games at Houston.